


Feels Like Home

by lallyloo



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Comfort, Drinking, Fluff, Friendship, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:14:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28158882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lallyloo/pseuds/lallyloo
Summary: When Link is missing North Carolina at Christmas time, Rhett plans a surprise for him at the Creative House.Written for Mythical Secret Santa 2020.
Relationships: Rhett McLaughlin & Link Neal, Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal
Comments: 12
Kudos: 40
Collections: Mythical Secret Santa 2020





	Feels Like Home

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Silverloveless for Mythical Secret Santa 2020

Rhett’s text had been simple.

**Wednesday night. You & me @ creative house. Plan to stay over.**

Link didn’t think too much about it. He knew their regular Thursday night brainstorming session wouldn’t be happening because it was Christmas Eve, so he mostly assumed Rhett was just moving it up a day. Link already had an extra toothbrush and other toiletries at the house, so just just threw some clothes in a bag and figured he was set. It was just him and Rhett anyway. No need to get fancy.

But on Wednesday morning, as he sat in his kitchen drinking his favourite smoothie, another text showed up.

**Bring pajamas**

Link stared at the text for a moment, then he sent a flurry of texts in reply.

**Pajamas?  
Why?  
And what kind?  
Pants and shirt? Or onesie? Or our filming ones?  
What’re they for?**

Rhett replied immediately.

**To sleep in obviously  
Comfortable ones so whatever that means to you**

Link overthought it a little longer and then went to his bedroom to pack some well worn flannel pants and an old t-shirt he loved to sleep in. Rhett had said _comfortable_ , so he was going with his most comfortable option.

Two more texts arrived that afternoon.

**bring a sweater  
and socks**

Confusion quickly turned to suspicion as Link stared at his phone, and he fired off a quick reply.

**You got something planned I don’t know about?**

There was a long delay before Rhett replied.

**Just follow the dang instructions man**

Link smiled to himself. Then he went back upstairs and packed a sweater. And socks.

Thursdays had always been their nights. A time to hang out together and brainstorm until they were both too tired to keep their eyes open. With their busy schedules they needed a time just for the two of them, and Thursday had always been it. And now, even with the holiday and vacation from work, they were still going to fit in their Thursday together, evening if this time it was falling on a Wednesday.

Link wasn’t entirely sure what Rhett was planning, but it didn’t seem to be anything for a sketch. They rarely filmed at the house anymore, and Rhett had never kept a sketch idea a secret – he was usually anxious to fill Link in on whatever hilarious idea had come to his mind.

This was different. Secretive. So just after the sun went down Link grabbed his bag with his pajamas and sweater and socks, and headed to the creative house.

Rhett had been watching for him, and when Link arrived the door opened before he was even able to pull out his key.

“Hey!” Rhett said excitedly.

Link looked at him in surprise. “Hi?”

“C’mon in!” Rhett grabbed Link’s bag and ushered him through the door, and Link was immediately hit with a blast of cool air.

“You got the A/C on?”

“Yeah,” Rhett replied, “you’ll see why in a second.”

Link followed him around the entryway and he was suddenly hit with Christmas overload.

Rhett had spent the afternoon decorating. There were lights in the windows, a wreath over the mantle, some candles here and there, a tree standing in the corner, and a fire was burning in the fireplace.

“You got the A/C running _and_ the fireplace?”

“Yeah,” Rhett chuckled, “the cold makes it feel wintery, and then the fireplace warms everything up.”

“Is that why you told me to pack a sweater and socks?”

Rhett grinned at him, gesturing to his own sweater and his socked feet. “You got it, man.”

Link pointed to the bare tree in the corner. “You forget the decorations?”

“Thought we could do it together.” Rhett smiled at him and Link smiled back.

“What’s all this for?”

“ _Christmas_ , man,” Rhett said. “I know you’ve been missing North Carolina and since we can’t go home I thought I’d plan, like, a Christmas Eve thing. You know, kinda like when we were kids.”

“We never spent Christmas Eve together as kids.”

“No, but our Christmases were probably similar. We can decorate the tree, watch some old Christmas shows, eat some snacks.”

“And sleep over?”

“Exactly!” Rhett gestured to two sleeping bags still rolled up, leaning by the fireplace.

“We’re gonna camp out?”

“Yeah,” Rhett was still grinning, “I thought we could sleep in front of the fireplace and wait for Santa.”

“I’ve got news for you, brother,” Link smirked, “Santa ain’t comin’ until tomorrow night.”

“Well, I’ve got news for _you_ , brother,” Rhett replied, “Santa ain’t even real.”

Link just laughed and nodded at him.

Rhett gestured around the room. “So what’d’ya wanna do first?”

“You’re the one with all these big ideas,” Link replied, “you tell me.”

“I got some apple cider warming in the kitchen. Wanna drink some and watch a show?”

“Sure.”

“I got some rum we can put in it,” Rhett called over his shoulder on his way to the kitchen, “figure we can get a little drunk and then decorate the tree.”

“Sounds good, man,” Link called after him.

He pulled his cardigan and socks out of his overnight bag and put them on, and then took a seat on the couch.

When Rhett returned he was moving quickly with a mug in each hand, “Hot hot hot hot hot.”

Link jumped up from the couch and grabbed one from him.

“Don’t burn yourself, bo,” Rhett winced as he set his mug down on the coffee table. 

He pulled a bottle of rum out from under his arm, unscrewed the cap, and poured a significant helping of it into his mug. “You want some?”

Link nodded and watched as Rhett poured some for him. It was less than he had given himself, and Rhett hesitated, looking to Link for a sign to stop or continue. 

“Go,” Link gestured, nodding, “more.”

Rhett continued pouring, nearly topping it up to the brim of the mug.

“You’ll have to sip it quick so it don’t spill,” Rhett said, “but it’ll taste good.”

“What’re we gonna watch?”

“Well, I was trying to think of all the shows that used to air when we were kids. I thought Rudolph for sure. But do you remember the Muppets one?”

“With the Fraggles?”

“Yeah! You remember it?”

“I think so.”

“Man, I used to wait for that to air every year. I think at some point I even had it on VHS.”

“I think I remember watching it at your house.”

“Really?”

“Maybe. Do you have it here?”

“Yeah, man!”

Link tucked a leg under himself, getting more comfortable on the couch, while Rhett pulled up the movie on his laptop.

“We’ll have to watch it like this,” Rhett explained. “I should’a thought ahead and put a TV in here.”

“Well, I mean..” Link replied, “you thought of all this other stuff.. Can’t think of everything, right?”

Rhett looked over at him and smiled. “Right.”

They settled in to watch the movie, and when the Swedish Chef appeared on screen Link was suddenly sure he’d seen it before, and a flood of memories came back to him. 

“I remember sitting on the couch at your parent’s house, watching this.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I can remember the tree,” Link motioned to his left side, “over here, all lit up.”

Rhett listened quietly as Link motioned to his right side, where Rhett was currently sitting.

“And you were sittin’ next to me.”

Rhett smiled at him.

“Do you remember that?” Link asked.

“No,” Rhett admitted, “not specifically.”

“It was a school night,” Link continued, absorbed in the memory, “so I’m not even sure why I was at your house.. my mom was probably workin’ late.”

“Do you remember how old we were?”

“Maybe ten? Eleven?”

Rhett looked almost sorry. “Wish I could remember.”

“I mean, maybe you do in some way,” Link shrugged. “Maybe that’s why you wanted to watch this one.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Rhett settled in a little closer and took Link’s hand in his, interlocking their fingers. “I probably got a lot of memories of you locked away somewhere.”

Link nodded in agreement and let himself fall heavier against Rhett’s side.

When the Muppets ended, Rhett ran out to the kitchen to fetch them both some more apple cider and then topped up both their mugs with rum.

“Rudolph?” he asked, taking a sip of cider and then flopping down next to Link again. “Then we can decorate the tree?”

“Yeah, man,” Link replied, “but are we gonna be too drunk to decorate it?”

“Are you drunk?”

“No, but you keep pouring rum for me and I will be.”

“Well I’ll keep pourin’ rum then,” Rhett laughed, leaning forward to tip another bit into Link’s mug. “I wanna see this drunken tree decoratin’.”

“It’s gonna look like shit.”

“I don’t care,” Rhett smiled, “it’ll be ours and it’s only us seein’ it.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re gonna be drunk soon too,” Link grinned back, “you’re sounding more Southern with every word that comes outta your mouth.”

“I get more Southern when I drink?”

“Yeah, you know you do.”

“Yeah, I know I do.” Rhett winked an awkward wink at him. “Maybe I been plannin’ that too.”

Link laughed and motioned to the laptop. “Put on the movie.”

Rhett did as he was told, and when he settled back against Link, Link reached over to hold hands again.

By the time the movie was over they were done their cider, which seemed to be more rum than cider by the end of it, and they both decided they were ready to decorate the tree.

Rhett stepped into the nearest office and returned with a box of decorations: colorful balls, fake candy canes, tinsel, a few strings of lights, and a giant light-up star.

Link pulled out the star while Rhett fiddled with the lights. “You got a plan here?”

“Lights first,” Rhett replied, “then whatever we want.”

Link followed him to the tree and waited for Rhett to feed the strand to him so they could wrap it around.

“Oh I nearly forgot!” Rhett said, “Hey Google, play Christmas Playlist.”

“You made a playlist??”

“Yeah, man,” Rhett grinned. “I know that’s kinda your thing, but I _do_ know how to put music together..”

Christmas music echoed through the house and Rhett fed the strand of lights around the tree to Link, giving him instructions on how to trail the lights around and make them even.

“Thought it didn’t matter what it looked like,” Link teased. “What was it you said? It’s just gonna be us seein’ it?”

Rhett grinned at him. “Well we gotta have the lights on even. After that you can do what you want.”

When the multi-colored lights were organized to Rhett’s satisfaction, he continued on with his style of decorating, trying to make things even all around and not using too many of one color or shape in a particular area. 

Link moved around him, dancing to the music from Rhett’s playlist, hanging a random ornament here, and hooking a candy cane there, and generally being more carefree with his decorating choices.

At some point he ran into the kitchen to grab some more cider, topping up his mug with rum, and he brought back another mug for Rhett as well.

By the end, Link was just tossing tinsel on the tree by the handful, laughing to himself and having a great time. He watched Rhett decorate, choosing exactly what ornament to put on next, and Link was feeling happy that they were there together. There was no one telling them how to decorate it, or to hurry up, or to film it for an audience. It was just them. Creating something. Together.

When the box of decorations was empty, and every piece had somehow made its way onto the tree, they stepped back together to admire their work. It was obvious which areas Rhett had focused on and which areas Link had attacked with candy canes and tinsel.

“It’s definitely ours,” Rhett laughed.

“Yep,” Link grinned, “it looks good.”

“It does.”

As they stood admiring their work, Link found himself wishing they had some mistletoe in the box. He could hold it up and it would give him an excuse to kiss Rhett, because suddenly in that moment it was all he wanted to do.

Kissing. It was something they used to do when they were younger. Just another thing they did for a long while, a little secret just for them. It faded away as they got older and they never really talked about why. Neither one wanted to stop, it just felt like it was another childish thing that they needed to let go when they reached adulthood.

“Oh, hey,” Rhett said loudly, interrupting Link’s train of thought. “We gotta do the star!”

Rhett fetched the star from the couch where one of them had flung it – neither one was sure who did it or when. 

Rhett walked over to the tree and reached his arm out hesitantly, testing, “do you want me to? I mean, I can just–” he held the star up to the top, which was an easy reach for him. “Did you wanna do it? Or should I just–”

“You put it on, man,” Link said, his voice coming out a bit whiny, “it’s not mistletoe, so I don’t care.”

Rhett gave him an odd look. “You don’t put mistletoe on top of a tree.”

“You don’t?”

“No, people don’t do that.”

Link furrowed his brow. “I’m sure people do that.”

“ _They don’t_ ,” Rhett laughed. “Man, I think you’ve had too much rum.”

After the star had been placed on the tree, Rhett suggested getting into their pajamas.

“Pajamas already?” Link said.

“Yeah, man,” Rhett replied, “we can wear jammies and watch a Christmas movie.”

Link laughed. “Just two guys in their forties hangin’ out in their jammies.” 

But it did sound like a great idea, and they quickly changed into their most comfortable pajamas. Their outfits were pretty similar – flannel pants and t-shirts. 

“Hey,” Rhett said as he got a good look at what Link was wearing, “is that my shirt?”

Link looked down, running his hand across the fabric. “Yeah.”

“You wear it to bed?”

Link nodded. “Mm hmm.”

“And those are your comfy pajamas?” Rhett was just staring at him.

“Yeah, man,” Link replied with a smile, “these are my favorite.”

“ _Oh_.” There was a look of surprise on Rhett’s face, and it was clear he was touched by it. “Okay, that’s good.. Good. You wanna watch a movie?”

“Well, I got a belly full of rum.. so I might fall asleep,” Link admitted, “but sure.”

Rhett took a seat on the couch and patted the spot beside him. “Sit.”

“What’re we watching?” Link plunked down next to Rhett and pulled a blanket over himself.

“Just wait,” Rhett said quietly as he queued up the movie on his laptop. “You’ll see.”

Link recognized it the second it started. “We’re watching Elf?!?”

Rhett laughed loudly. “Yep, that alright?”

“It’s alright with _me_ ,” Link chuckled, “but what about you? I thought you hated Elf.”

“I don’t hate it. I just like to tease you ‘bout it sometimes.”

“All the time.”

Rhett nodded. “All the time. But it’s Christmas and I know it’s your favorite. Didn’t seem right not watchin’ it.”

“Rhett..” was all Link could think to say, and he settled against him.

They held hands and Link shared his blanket, and it was all so comfortable, and about halfway through the movie Link’s mind drifted back to the tree decorating.

“Can’t believe you don’t have any mistletoe.”

“Man, you really wanted to put mistletoe on the tree?”

“I mean, _no_ ,” Link admitted, “not really on the tree.”

“What’d you want the mistletoe for?”

“I dunno. Just wanted to kiss you, I guess.”

“And you thought ya needed mistletoe for that?”

Link shrugged. “Thought it might help.”

“Man, you don’t need mistletoe,” Rhett said quietly, “you can just kiss me whenever you want”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I thought you knew that.”

“I didn’t know.”

“Well now you do.”

“So I could kiss you, like, right now?”

“Like right now.”

So Link kissed him. His lips on Rhett’s. Soft, warm, sweet. It felt familiar. Like home.

“I missed that,” Link said quietly as they pulled apart.

“Me too,” Rhett smiled. “And in the future, you don’t gotta be drunk for it either.”

“Alright, Southern boy,” Link grinned, “I’ll remember that.”

And Link kissed him again.

When the movie ended they got ready to camp out on the floor. Rhett stepped back into the office and brought out the foam bedrolls they sometimes used for camping. He laid those out and put the sleeping bags on top with a couple pillows.

“I didn’t think this through,” Rhett said, “I run hot so I should be further from the fire, but I’m afraid you’ll just roll yourself right into the dang thing when you’re asleep.

“Longways?” Link suggested. “Heads near the fire, feet away, side by side?”

“You okay with that?”

“I’m okay with whatever, Rhett,” Link said sleepily. “I just wanna see your face when I wake up.”

Rhett smiled. “Well alright.”

They turned the bedrolls and sleeping bags so their pillows were closer to the fireplace, and then they settled in, side by side, facing each other. 

“I know Santa’s supposed to come,” Link said quietly, “but I don’t have a gift for you tomorrow,”

He could see Rhett shrug in the firelight “I don’t have a gift for you either. Should’a thought that one through better too.”

“Yeah, but you did all this.”

Rhett brought Link’s hand up to his lips and kissed it, so Link leaned in and kissed him again.

“Thanks, Rhett.”

“Was it a good surprise?”

“Yeah, it was the best.”

“Feel like home?”

“Not really,” Link said, quickly realizing he should explain further. “I mean, not all the _stuff_. It’s nice, but I didn’t need all this stuff. I just needed you here. Just bein’ with you feels like home.”

Rhett nodded in the dim light and leaned over and kissed him again. “Merry Christmas, Link.”

“Merry Christmas, Rhett.”


End file.
